The New Zealand Governor General, Lieutenant General Sir Jerry Mateparae has arrived in the Cook Islands for the first time in the role.
His three day trip to the Cooks Islands, follows a short visit to Niue, which along with the Cook Islands, Tokelau and the Ross Dependency, make up the wider Realm of New Zealand.
Beverley Tse reports from the Cook Islands.
"The Governor General was greeted at Rarotonga International Airport by the Queen's Representative Tom Marsters, the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Henry Puna and other government officials. During his visit to Rarotonga, Sir Jerry Mateparae will receive a traditional welcome at Atupare Marae, in Arorangi District, where he and Lady Janine Mateparae will be carried to the entrance on a tangotango or raised platform."
Sir Jerry and his delegation will also be given a tour of the country's waste, water and sanitation unit known as WATSAN, as well as projects funded under the New Zealand Aid Programme. On the final leg of the trip, the Governor General will travel to one of the outer islands, Mauke, where he will unveil a new war memorial and attend a wreath laying ceremony.
